Car #002 ('Dick')

Our 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

Like our Silver Ghost, 'Dick' our Silver Cloud, being manufactured in 1959, is one of the very last true Silver Cloud's ever made.
1960 saw the introduction of the Silver Cloud II, which was a Silver Cloud with a V8 engine fitted and just a year or so later came
the Silver Cloud III which had the same V8 engine as the Cloud II but also had a number of changes to the Cloud body design, mainly
around the lights and front. This makes the Silver Cloud (I) the very last Rolls-Royce to be mass produced with the Straight Six
engine which had been the main-stay of all Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for many decades.

'Dick' has a Dove-Grey leather and walnut interior with deep pile navy blue carpets and is painted Tudor Grey over Silver Chalice.

In the back is a wide, leather, sofa bench seat which provides very spacious room for two, or three at a push. their is room on the
rear window shelf for a nice display of flowers. There are optional, folding arm-rests and rear facing veneered picnic tables.

There is also space in the front with the chauffeur/driver for another adult or possibly two small bridesmaids. At a push this car
could take six mixed sized people, including the driver.

Cars built in the 1950's were usually very basic with few luxuries, however being a Rolls-Royce this 1950's car is exceptional in that
it has a fully Automatic Gearbox, Power Steering, a Heater and even Electric Windows. Not being standard at the time, this car does NOT
have Air Conditioning or Seat Belts.

This car has been rallied extensively by us and has proved to be exceptionally reliable and gives an excellent ride. The car was
featured in the Classic Car magazine in 2001 and used to parade past Her Majesty the Queen, in 2002.

More History

Rolls-Royce chose April 1955 in which to publicise their new models. the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn was replaced by the Rolls-Royce Silver
Cloud and the Bentley R by the Bentley S.

Like their predecessors which had only differed in outward appearance in their radiators and badging, the new models were essentially the
same. The similarity went further than hitherto, however, because for the first time there were no differences technically.

The unit construction of chassis and coachwork, instead of being separate body and frame was by this time accepted by almost every other
manufacturer. The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S were exceptions, because they still had a separate, massive frame. Rolls-Royce had
invested a huge amount of money in the development of the chassis and had achieved a rigidity which was 50 per cent higher than in the
previous model.

The chief designer, J P Blatchley, had tailored a body with very attractive lines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and its sister model
the Bentley S type. It was produced as a standard body by Pressed Steel and was attached to the chassis at Rolls-Royce where it was
finished. Four doors eased access; they were made of aluminium which was also the material for the divided bonnet parts and the boot lid
above the spacious luggage compartment.

From the very beginning an automatic gearbox, the four speed unit, was standard for the Silver Cloud and S-type. To special order, a
car could be fitted with a manual gear change. This was requested only rarely, and from 1957 onward a manual gearbox was no longer
offered. The optional extra most often requested was power steering.